Zachary and Murphy ...

Zachary and Murphy Find the Source

Two queer boys find a source of water for a community of Cajuns.

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It was during the heat of the summer of 1961 when cracks developed in the earth on the south Louisiana Cajun prairie due to one of the cruelest droughts ever to plague the terre. The bayous were dry, leaves shriveled and browned, and the farmers were unable to plant their crops. Yet amidst all of this dryness didn’t despair the strong Cajun people. They cared for each other the way they do each and every single day. The animals searched for water during this heat spell. Even they didn’t despair, they knew that Mother Nature sometimes allows these things to happen in creating a balance with the universe. 

There were a couple of guys who lived on a plot of land they called Terre Amour. They had been drawn to each other in high school since freshman to be exact. Basketball had brought them together. Both men were over six feet tall. They had fashioned their own court to continue their love, training and exercise of the sport. They had cordoned off an Olympic-sized basketball court with a hardened dirt floor. And they had goals at opposite ends with nets that they made themselves from wild hemp that they gathered from the prairie. Zacarias and Murphy were always played with the first string. It was their love of the game that had brought them together as teammates, friends, and lovers. 

They had a bayou that ran through the backside of their house. There was a rumor that in the past there had been a natural spring that provided H2O to the bayou. The water flowed north to south with banks that curved. The source, a natural spring, had kept the water crystal clear and cool. And no one had been able to locate the source of the water and where the bayou emptied. Zac and Murph, as they were more frequently called, decided to find the stream. Zac had awakened one night and mouthed the words, “Find the stream. It’s within walking distance.”

Murph declared after waking him up, “Zac, wake up, you must be dreaming.”

“Yes, my Murph, I have been in a dream. If I can remember it directly I was told to find the stream.”

Murph, asked, “So what should we do, Zac”

Zac answered, “Let’s sleep on it, and in the morning we can chew over it with our morning brew of coffee.”

Murph answered, “Good idea, my love.”

Zac and Murph assumed the spooning position and as usual fell back into a deep sleep. These two boys weren’t plagued with any sort of insomnia as long as they could sleep in each other’s arms. The boys considered their sleep a very important part of their lives as they lived and loved together. They worked and played hard and sleep just came easily. It was another chance to be intimate that the boys embraced.

The boys woke up the next morning the same way they had said, “Good night,” several hours before. They were still in the spooning position. Zac kissed Murph telling him that he loved him. Murph replied, “ditto.” 

They left the bed naked because that was normal for them. Zac and Murph always slept naked. It was a personal belief that the body needed some naked time, and these two loved to spend time without clothes. Mostly, because it was comfortable for them, and cooler during the mostly hot, humid weather of Louisiana. They headed to the kitchen to make coffee. 

Sitting down at the table Murph reminded Zac of his dream last night. He asked, “What about the words that you muttered in the dark of the night? Look for the source. Any more thoughts?”  “No, but now that you’re bringing it up, I think we should look for the source of the spring. It was so faithful for all these years. I’d dare say that some of the younger folk don’t even know that the stream provides the water for the bayou. That’s why it’s so clean and cool when regular bayous are mostly warm and latte colored.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Murph answered.

“Let’s keep it to ourselves,” Zac added, “sometimes a bigger herd is not always best, too many leaders and not enough followers.”

“Agreed,” replied Murph.

And so the boys sat on the porch in their oak crafted rockers looking out over the dry bayou. They missed their naked swimming at night, in the morning and on hot afternoons. It was one of their favorite places to make love, too. 

The boys headed out after breakfast on the lookout for the source of the spring. They headed south since the tale was that the fresh crystal cool water usually bubbled from a hole in the bank that was extra high at the point of the bubbling water. Zac and Murphy were really sad as they saw animals scuttling down into the depth of the bayou only to find no relief and no respite from it. The animals knew the boys more than they knew any other human. The boys lived their lives mostly on their acre of land with the animals and the vegetation. The animals seemed to know that the boys were here to help, they trusted Zac and Murph. Even a water moccasin stayed by them in hiding mostly, but they noticed it following them. It knew they meant him no harm. The boys had become fluent in animal communication. 

As they came to a section where there was sort of a barricade, the boys figured someone had plugged up the stream’s source with dirty heavy objects. Murph put his ear to the dam closing off the stream and could hear water sploshing. With the help of an alligator and a large deer they opened the blockade of the stream. And beautiful crystal clear cool water exploded into the parched, cracked bayou. 

Murph said, “Zac, this is our gift for the Cajuns. It’ll be our secret.” The boys didn’t enjoy attention.

By Barefoot Cajun

From: United States

Website: https://substack.com/@thebarefootcajun897878?r=1jtlgx&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile